lebanon vineyard with tractor

What will a Middle East war do to your costs and prices?

Bonds and Risk: Expect fuel costs to be up, interest costs down

Farmers are caught in a developing cost squeeze. Global oil costs are threatening to balloon from about US$80 today to over US$100 per barrel, which would be a 25 per cent leap. On the other hand, interest rates in the U.S. and Canada are scheduled to decline by as much as 1.5 per cent by […] Read more


Saskatchewan's Legislative Building in Regina in May 2024.

Saskatchewan gets new ag minister in cabinet overhaul

Moe shrinks and completely shuffles post-election cabinet

A rancher from the southeastern corner of Saskatchewan is the province’s new minister of agriculture, as part of a complete cabinet shuffle following last month’s election. Premier Scott Moe on Thursday named Daryl Harrison, MLA for the riding of Cannington since 2020, as minister of agriculture, replacing David Marit. The shuffle cuts Moe’s cabinet to […] Read more

Governments have only a limited amount of sway over markets at large but can influence investor sentiment on different sectors, such as health care or alternative energy.

Is it best, when investing, to stay politically agnostic?

Investing for Fun and Profit: Besides, how much influence do governments really have on the markets?

I began this column the day after the great Harris/Trump debate. Based on the publishing schedule, you might be reading it just before the U.S. election. A lot can happen in both politics and the markets over a six-week period, but I thought it would be an appropriate time to review how politics may or […] Read more



John Deere video screengrab via YouTube

John Deere responds to tariff threat

A Trump threat and social media backlash have Deere stating its commitment to U.S. manufacturing

In late September, Donald Trump made a surprising statement during a campaign rally, although Trump’s behaviour is now generally so consistently bizarre that it’s difficult to call any statement surprising. But this one caught the ag community a bit off guard. Earlier in the year, John Deere had announced it was moving some production out […] Read more





Abbotsford-Mission MLA Pam Alexis speaks on B.C. Agriculture Day in the provincial legislature on Oct. 25, 2022. (Legislative Assembly Of B.C. video screengrab via Facebook)

B.C.’s ag minister downed in fraught election

Governing party to be confirmed next week as votes recounted

Pam Alexis, the minister of agriculture and food for David Eby's New Democrats since late 2022, was defeated in her constituency of Abbotsford-Mission in Saturday night's election by Conservative challenger Reann Gasper, by a spread of almost 2,700 votes.